Czech skier Teresa Beranova had to explain her words about Alexander Bolshunov.

She strongly condemned him after the conflict with the Finn Yoni Mäki at the World Cup in Lahti.

The athlete explained that she was referring exclusively to the episode in which the Russian, in her opinion, behaved unprofessionally.

“Perhaps later Bolshunov realized that he was acting incorrectly.

But even so, I cannot understand his behavior.

I happened to be in a similar situation at the U23 World Ski Championships, but I would never have thought of being so aggressive towards my opponent.

Alexander is much more experienced, he is one of the best skiers in the world, and we must look up to them.

That is why I think that, being a professional, he should not give vent to his emotions, "TASS quotes Beranova with reference to the Czech Ski Association.

The incident occurred at the end of January during the relay race.

At the finish line, Myaki deliberately did not let Bolshunov pass, which made him mad.

First, the Russian waved him off with a stick, and after the end of the race he pushed his opponent altogether.

The Russian national team was disqualified, and the two-time world champion had to apologize.

Despite this, he was sharply criticized by colleagues, among whom was Beranova.

In an interview with the Czech media, she not only called Bolshunov's actions "ape's behavior", but also spoke unflatteringly about Russian skiers and athletes in general, calling them empty-headed.

According to her, during the competition, athletes from Russia never greet or even smile in response.

The national team did not react to Beranova's statements.

However, her words offended fans who began to write angry messages to her on Instagram, adding monkey emoji to them.

The flurry of criticism was so great that the athlete had to close comments.

At the same time, Anatoly Volkov, an analyst of the Russian team, contacted Beranova in personal correspondence.

He explained to her that for many ski enthusiasts, her words seemed too harsh, which could explain their actions on social networks.

“I tried to convey to her that we, Russian people, are not as wild as everyone in Europe thinks they are ... And I also tried to explain why she received so much hate from Russian fans ... In the end, it seems to her something got it and she apologized.

I think the athlete gave this interview out of emotion, without really thinking about what she was saying.

And now she feels awkward and remorseful, ”Volkov commented on the correspondence.

The Czech woman herself stressed that she did not want to offend anyone, including Bolshunov.

“I was asked a question about the relay in Lahti, and I answered it.

Perhaps the answer was not too tactful, but sincere.

I have no personal dislike for the Russians, it was just a reaction to the situation.

I do not know any of them personally, not even the leading athletes, but I would not dare to call another person stupid.

I apologize if this offended you, but I did not mean anything bad at all, ”Beranova wrote to Volkov.

The Czech woman's name became widely known to fans after an incident at the February World Youth Championships in Vuokatti.

Teresa fought for first place with Anastasia Faleeva.

At the finish line, the Russian woman touched her opponent's ski, she fell and took last place.

Faleeva was found guilty and stripped of her gold medal.

She apologized to her rival, although she noted that the punishment could be less severe.

In turn, the Czech woman accepted the apology, expressing confidence that the collision had happened by accident.

And although the situation ended in peace, some remembered Beranova as an athlete, because of which the domestic skier lost the first place.

After two episodes, they began to compare her with her compatriot, the famous biathlete Gabriela Koukalova, who also repeatedly allowed herself harsh statements about the Russians.

In particular, she actively advocated a more severe punishment after the doping scandals and stated that she did not trust even pure athletes from Russia.

At the same time, with the end of Koukalova's career, there was no warming in relations between Czechs and Russians.

At the ended World Championship in Pokljuka, Irina Kazakevich complained about the arrogant attitude of her rivals, who, according to her, “turn up their nose” when greeting.

The Czech Biathlon Federation denied the words of Kazakevich, and her colleague in the national team Svetlana Mironova noted that not everyone behaves in this way.

“I cannot say that we are in close contact, but Marketa Davidova always greets.

I do not see any disrespect, everyone greets and communicates, there are no problems.

I did not notice this.

But we are all different: whoever wants to communicate, he communicates, who does not want to, he does not communicate, ”- quotes Mironova TASS.